I’ve talked a bit about zero waste and low waste skin care before, but I’ve never really talked about haircare. This is mostly because I’ve been through a bit of trial and error, particularly over lockdown. So, this week I thought I’d breakdown what products I use on my hair and how I look after it!
Haircare can have a huge impact on the environment. For example, a haircare routine where you shampoo your hair twice and use a wash out conditioner can use 14,222 litres of water and 1252kWh of energy, and has a carbon footprint of 500kg of carbon dioxide equivalents. Alternatively, washing your hair twice a week and using a leave in conditioner uses 613 litres of water and 55 kWh of energy, and produces a carbon footprint of 25kg of carbon dioxide equivalents. There is also the plastic aspect to consider, with the UK throwing away 520 million shampoo bottles every year, which is obviously terrible for the environment. Bathroom products are also less likely to be recycled, possibly because they tend to be further away from our recycling points (which are often in kitchens). So, if haircare can have a big impact, how can we minimise this on a personal level?
So to start off, what is my hair type? My hair is naturally straight and smooth and isn’t very thick. It’s on the oilier side, and I have a very dry scalp. This means that it can look dirty quite quickly, and that I sometimes get dandruff.
How often do I wash my hair? I wash it twice a week. I used to wash it a lot more than this when I was younger because it looked oily, but actually I’ve found that the less I wash it, the longer it stays looking clean! Overwashing hair can irritate your scalp and encourage dandruff, so that’s another reason I don’t wash it too much. I also wanted to limit my water use when I’m in the shower, so by washing my hair less it means that my other showers are significantly shorter.
What products do I use? I used to use dandruff shampoo, which was really expensive and pretty full of chemicals. Then I tried using a shampoo bar. Now, I’d thoroughly recommend trying shampoo bars, because I know plenty of people that love them, but they didn’t work for me. It’s important to know your hair type before picking the type of shampoo bar, so make sure you do a bit of research before hand. So, when I realised that the shampoo bar wasn’t working, I tried refilling my shampoo in glass bottles at a local shop. I’m currently using Faith in Nature shampoo and conditioner, and I love them. I have the grapefruit and orange shampoo (but I’ll probably move to a tea tree shampoo when I next fill up) and the coconut conditioner, both of which I love.
How do I look after my hair? I think like most people, I’ve taken my hair for granted a lot, it’s always just flowed out of my head without me really thinking about it. Now, I try to be kinder to it. For example, I wear it down more often so that I’m not pulling it back all the time and damaging it. I also don’t brush my hair when it’s wet, because this can encourage dandruff and can damage your hair, and I don’t use heat on my hair very often.
That’s all this week! How do you look after your hair? Is your routine low waste? Do you have any tips for haircare or reducing bathroom waste? Let me know!
Waste Makes Waste 